Chapter 10 - The Third Meeting
Vanessa slapped Daniel.
He didn't defend himself.
“You brought Eleanor to Laura?”
“I didn't know Eleanor would come.”
My voice came out colder than I expected.
“Stop.”
He looked at me.
“You've lied every time the truth became inconvenient.”
Daniel finally told us.
Laura asked him to bring a copy of Halcyon’s original incorporation ledger.
Daniel agreed.
But he was drowning financially.
Eleanor offered to erase his debt in exchange for Laura’s location.
He gave it to her.
The third meeting became an ambush.
Not violent.
Worse.
Eleanor arrived with documents proving Laura had been living under another identity for twenty years.
If exposed carelessly, Laura could face accusations involving false identification, tax filings and financial irregularities—even though many actions had allegedly been part of staying hidden.
Eleanor offered a deal.
Give up the remaining archive.
Disappear permanently.
Emily remains untouched.
Laura agreed to disappear again.
Daniel betrayed my mother to save himself.
Then divorced me while pretending it was about Vanessa.
My anger became almost peaceful.
“You will never speak to me again after tonight.”
Daniel looked wounded.
Good.
But Laura’s letter contained something strange.
I knew Daniel would betray me.
Dad frowned.
“She planned for it.”
Laura had used Daniel.
She knew his debts.
Knew Eleanor would pressure him.
Knew he would reveal her location.
The third meeting wasn't a failure.
It was bait.
Laura gave Eleanor a corrupted copy of the archive.
Eleanor spent months trying to decrypt it.
Meanwhile the real archive remained beneath Aurum House.
Everything led to tonight.
Then Vanessa noticed another page stuck inside the envelope.
It was addressed to her.
Vanessa,
Your mother saved my life.
Vanessa began sobbing before reading further.
Rebecca Cole had died in the crash.
Laura survived.
Rebecca deliberately switched coats and jewelry with Laura minutes before the accident because they believed they were being followed.
After the crash, those personal effects caused authorities to identify Rebecca as Laura.
Laura woke later in another location under emergency medical care.
By the time she understood what happened, Eleanor had already begun controlling the narrative.
Rebecca had died protecting her.
My mother's grave contained Vanessa’s mother.
Vanessa covered her face.
For twenty-one years, we had mourned each other’s losses incorrectly.
Then the final line:
Vanessa, your mother left something for you too.
She looked up.
“Where?”
A knock sounded at the private-room door.
The waiter entered carrying a second black envelope.
Vanessa opened it.
Inside was a key.
And an address.
Dad recognized it.
His face changed.
“What?”
He whispered:
“That’s the house Laura and I bought before Emily was born.”
I stared.
“I've never heard of it.”
“You weren't supposed to.”
“Why?”
Dad looked toward my mother's letter.
“Because we sold it twenty-three years ago.”
Vanessa turned over the key.
May you like
Engraved into the metal was yesterday’s date.
Someone had changed the lock less than twenty-four hours earlier.
